We started the tasting with the 2012 Cotes du Rhone Le Temps est Venu. Mostly Grenache and coming from a 7-hectare plot of vines situated in the Plan de Dieu (which is the flat, ocean of vines located between Vacqueyras and Cairanne), fermented with 100% whole clusters, and aged all in concrete, it offers a delicious, rounded profile with notions of black cherries, ground herbs, fennel and background meatiness. Medium-bodied, with a forward, perfumed and fresh character, it should be consumed over the coming 5-6 years. One of the next generation of winemakers to come up through the ranks by working with his father, the young, yet talented, Stephane Ogier (who is one of the youngest vignerons in the appellation) has been fully in control at this brilliant estate since around 2003. Covering roughly 7 acres in Cote Rotie, there are new plantings just now coming on line, both in Cote Rotie and in the surrounding regions as well. In addition, they are in the process of building a completely new cellar located on the western edge of Ampuis. There’s lots going on here, and if you’re a young wine lover today, count yourself lucky that there are young vignerons of this caliber out there. Looking at the 2011s, these show slightly more linear profiles than the 2012s, yet both vintages possess fantastic purity of fruit and overall elegant profiles. Robert Kacher Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 239-1275